I'm sure we’ve all heard of the 2016 anime hit series during the start of the 2016-2017 figure skating season. If you are a figure skater: competitive (very general: skater who qualifies to compete or old school term “amateur” figure skater), professional (retired from the competitive career, but in general does ice shows or coaches) or adult (very general: started skating after 18 years old), you probably heard about the show through the community. That's basically how I found out about it.
Someone in the Adult Skating community, made a post on a Facebook group and it was about Yuri!!! On Ice. Honestly, I was skeptical. I recalled watching “Ginban Kaleidoscope” around the time of the Torino 2006 Winter Olympics, which was after the show was released. As a figure skating fan, I developed some curiosity and decided to watch it. I remember feeling disappointed; I wanted to see skating elements. I wanted to see what I saw on TV. Hence, why I was cautious about Yuri!!! On Ice. I didn't want to relive the “bummer” feeling.
However, with enough annoyance pressure from seeing images about this series, I caved in and gave the series a chance. It did not disappoint. The introduction segment to each episode spoke volumes about what I could expect. The arm movements and usage of skating elements made me go “hold up, they must have had someone choreograph this.” I went to the series official website, and yes, there was a choreographer named Kenji Miyamoto, who has choreographed for a few top name Japanese figure skaters: Shizuka Arakawa, Daisuke Takahashi, and Yuzuru Hanyu. It was a very smart decision on the production team to bring in a professional. With the bonus of comedy throughout the 12 episodes, I was genuinely pleased. While thoroughly enjoying the show, I could not help but relate to the characters.
Now, I'm not a competitive figure skater like the individuals you see on TV. I'm an Adult Skater, who started skating in my 20's, only done Adult Theatre on Ice and a first-time competitor (2016-2017 season as a single skater). It never crossed my mind that I would relate to these characters. Yes, they are fictional, but I don't perform like them. I don't even do double jumps (two 360 degrees rotations for most jumps), but their competitive world reminds me of my current skating life.
Obviously, it will relate more to competitive figure skaters because their skating IS their career (I have a regular day job). It's easy to see that. The competitive skaters we see on TV become celebrities and their lives get reported, which is what happens to the characters in the anime. Most people don't even know that Adult Figure Skating exists. I bet some of you are hearing it for the first time from reading this. So, what I decided to do was not to write a plain ol' review about how great or bad the show is or why you should or shouldn't watch it. Instead, I decided to write about each episode on how it is reflective of my skating interest and Adult Skating life. FYI, I had to rewatch the episodes to write these. So please enjoy!
Come back the next day for episode 1!
© 2017 Linda Thai
Photography by Linda Thai
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